USC rolls to another victory

Lodrick Stewart scored 19 points and Gabe Pruitt added 13 Friday night as USC beat North Carolina A&T 68-38 at Los Angeles.

Stewart had 13 first-half points and had three 3-pointers. Nick Young chipped in 11 points for USC.

The Trojans (9-2) have a nine-game winning streak, their longest since the 2001-02 season when they also won nine straight.

USC claimed its first 20-point lead on a Young layup with 15:30 remaining. About 2 minutes later, the Trojans led by 25 points when Pruitt hit one of his three 3-pointers.

At the outset, both teams started slowly, putting up shots that clanked off the rim and airballs.

Only eight points were scored by both squads through nearly 7 minutes of action.

The Trojans, however, rattled off runs of 14-2 and 7-0 and entered halftime leading 29-17.

The leading scorer for the Aggies (0-8) was Derek Crumpton, who scored seven points in 15 minutes.

USC has not won 10 in a row since the 1970-71 season.

(12) UCLA 86, Sacramento St. 56: Aaron Afflalo scored 22 points to lead the Bruins’ rout of the Hornets at Los Angeles.

Jordan Farmar had 15 points for the Bruins (10-1), who had four players in double figures while extending their winning streak to seven games.

Their only loss was to Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 23.

It’s the school’s best start since 1994-95, when the Bruins finished 32-1 and won the NCAA championship under Jim Harrick.

Coming off a 74-72 victory over unheralded Wagner College, the Bruins opened this one with an 18-2 run and were never seriously threatened in their first meeting with Sacramento State (8-5).

Oregon St. 73, W. Michigan 68: At Honolulu, Chris Stephens scored 23 points to lead the Beavers’ win over the Broncos in the fifth-place game of the Rainbow Classic.

Nick DeWitz added 14 points for Oregon State (6-4) while Sasa Cuic had 11.

Andrew Hershberger had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to lead Western Michigan (3-6). Joe Reitz added 16 points and Stanes Bufford 12 for the Broncos.

With the game tied at 45 with 16:33 remaining, Oregon State went on a 16-4 run lasting about 7 minutes, sparked by six points each from DeWitz and Cuic.

Western Michigan pulled to within three, 71-68, on Andre Ricks’ baseline jumper with 8.8 seconds remaining.

But Stephens then made two free throws to seal the victory.

Oregon State led 37-36 at halftime after a tight first period that saw two ties and six lead changes.

Western Michigan outrebounded Oregon State 42-33 but made just 4 of 17 3-point attempts (23.5 percent).